Mother of Losers
by J.C. Conner
Summary: June Lupin lived in Derry, Maine all her life and never had a single friend until the summer of 1989, befriending the Losers club. Due being older and protective by nature, June is nicknamed 'Mother of Losers'. As the summer begins, June is having nightmares. Nightmares of red balloons filled with blood. Nightmares of dead children. Nightmares of a clown. (IT 2017)
1. Chapter 1

JUNE

Her feet are submerged in sewage water. A couple of rats scurry themselves into small cracks on the cement walls. She couldn't begin to describe the horrible smell of sewage waste from all over Derry.

A childish laugher echoes throughout the sewers.

She got frighten yet curious, trying to figure out if she should find a way out or go to the source of the laughter. Logically, she knew that she was merely dreaming and the option of escaping just seemed ludicrous.

Another laugh erupts into the air. However, this one was a mixture of a child and an adult laughing at the same time.

She found herself being drawn to the laughter, her legs moving on their own accord. The laughter grew loud and sinister. Her heartrate pounds so hard against her chest it might easily break its way from her ribcage.

Then she heard them calling out her name.

 _'June...June…Juunnneee.'_

'Junie?' Her entire body came to a sudden stop. She recognized that voice.

Georgie Denbrough.

The little 5-year-old boy whom she baby-sat since he was three. The little boy who mysteriously vanished at the beginning of the new school year.

"Georgie?" She calls out. "Georgie, where are you?"

Silence.

"Georgie please," she begs. "your family misses you so much. Especially Bill."

'Junie."

She snaps her head to the right, seeing Georgie standing a few feet away from her. He wore a bright yellow raincoat with red rubber boots. She wanted to run to Georgie and hug him. But there was something off about him, especially how he looked. Georgie appearance was clean, not as if he was never in the sewers at all.

 _How long has he been here?_

Looking closely at him, she noticed that the right arm of his raincoat was empty and slightly torn at the end. Like if an animal was chewing on it.

'Junie, come with me and you'll float too.' Georgie said, smiling innocently.

'Georgie, what happened to you?" she asks, trying to maintain a calm state of mind. "How did you get here?"

Georgie laughs. 'My new friend. He even gave me a balloon…'

Her heart drops into the pit of her stomach. "What new friend?"

Behind the darkness where Georgie stood, a pair of eyes glows brightly, like the fire in a fire place. It started to move closer towards George, it's form finally taking shape from the darkness.

She turns around and ran. She ran deep into the labyrinth of the sewers. Running away from the horrible laughter that was chasing after her. However, the water became thick like sludge, making it harder to run.

"Run, run, run as fast as you can!" the voice taunts. "I'm gonna catch you! I'm gonna catch you, June!"

She found herself at a dead end. What stood between herself and freedom was a rusting gate secure with several locks and chains. Suddenly her body was being crushed uncomfortably against the gate by someone or something. She felt it breathing hot and heavily against her ear and neck.

"I told you I was gonna catch you, Junie." It said into her ear. A wet slimy tongue slithers its way out its mouth, traveling from her neck to her cheek. "Oh my…you taste so innocent, Junie. For someone your age."

She struggles against her capture, causing her more discomfort as her face was pressed down more on the rusting metal.

It laughs sinisterly in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "What's the matter? Big tough June is getting scared?"

"I'm not afraid of you." She grits out. "You're not even real. You're just a stupid monster- "

It laughs again. "Oh, silly child. I'm very real. And I know you're afraid of me." The creature flips her body so that she can finally have a good look at it.

A clown.

It was a fucking clown.

He wore the typical white face paint with his nose painted red instead of having those red rubber noses. The top of its head was round and huge, somewhat peanut shaped, sprouting bright red-orange hair. However, his clothing choice was from the Shakespearean era. An odd choice for a clown.

He smiles at her. "Such a pretty girl." He reaches up and lightly caresses the side of her face, making her flinch to his touch. "You think I'm not real Junie? You don't believe in me?" He questions in a mocking tone.

"Fuck off." She spat.

"Tsst tsst. A lady shouldn't be using foul language." It taunts, pressing its face against hers, nuzzling it.

"Who are you?"

The clown pulls back from her face and looks deep into her eyes, flashing horrible sharp yellowish teeth. "Who am I? Who am I?" It laughs at the questions. "I'm your worst nightmare."

14-year-old June Lupin awoke to the sound of her alarm clock dinging on her nightstand. She groans softly, rolling onto her stomach to turn it off. She then picks it up and checks the time.

7:10 AM.

 _Got 20 minutes to shower and get dressed for school. Then stop by the bakery for a couple of donuts._

However, June couldn't find herself to get up from her bed. Her mind on the dream she had recently How it felt so real to her. Up until now, she kind of didn't think about Georgie for months.

 _And what was up with that weird clown?_ June thought to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

JUNE

Diane Lupin laid passed out from on the tacky green pea couch, lying on her stomach. She had come home probably an hour before June woke up from working the graveyard shift at the hospital. Up until her husband Sean died last July, Diane didn't work herself to an early grave like she's doing now.

June watches as her mother slept peacefully. Working 15 hours a day can do that to anyone who desperately needs the income. She goes into the kitchen to grab a couple of granola bars and makes her mom a sandwich for when she wakes up. June then grabs her backpack and house keys from the coffee table that stands between the TV and the couch. She kisses her mom on the side of her temple and head out the door.

* * *

Every day for the past year, June rode her hand-me-down bike to school whether it was rain, sheet, or snow. It wasn't the best-looking bike in the world with its rusting handles and fading chipping paint but it was reliable.

It was a 10-minute bike ride from her house to the school. She scans the front school yard for Henry Bower and his friends. Those redneck bastards were notorious for bullying anyone. Their torment towards the kids didn't stop at school, they literally lived for pain and suffering. However, it surprised her greatly that Henry didn't bother messing with Bill Denbrough because of Georgie's disappearance for a whole school year.

As she approaches the school's entrance, she caught a single bright red balloon floating from a distance. The string attached at the end of balloon is unmoving. The balloon started to move forward, growing larger.

Towards June.

She began to look around frantically, seeing people's reaction to the massive growing balloon. Instead, people acted as if they didn't see the balloon. They went on with their morning as normal.

'Am I going crazy?' June thought to herself.

'Come down and you'll float too.' A voice said from behind her.

June turns around to find the source of the voice but no one was there. Her heart pounds against her chest hard. She felt some light bump against her and she jump and fell on her buttocks in fright.

The surroundings changed so quick that June didn't have enough time to process it what was happening until it was over. It went from bright, sunny day with slight clouds to the grimy small labyrinth of the sewers. She tries to fight the urge to gag and vomit from the overwhelming smell of sewage waste.

'Come float with us June…' A child's voice said. 'Come and float with us…we all float down here.'

It was pitch black in the sewers and June could barely see. She quickly gets up and searches for a wall to touch to navigate where she was going. It was getting hard for June to breathe. She waves her arms helplessly.

"Hello?"

 _'Peak a boo…I see June!'_ The voices call out.

June felt her blood run cold and surely her skin turned white at the sound of its voice. Then it started to laugh throughout the sewers. She tries to move her legs but they were being held down. Laughter grew louder and closer as June struggles to break free.

'Come float with us.'

 _No._

'Come float with us.'

 _Stop it. This isn't real._

'You'll float too.' A hand grabs onto her wrist tightly.

June lets out a scream.

A car horn blares into her ears. Her body jerks forward and falls onto the hard concrete of the sidewalk. Her knees and elbows scraps painfully against the sidewalk, causing June to groan out in pain.

"Oh, my god, is she okay?" Someone calls out.

June sits up, opening her eyes. She was back at school, everything the same as before. The only difference is now that many people, student and teachers alike, had their eyes focused on her. Looking at her like she was some type of freak of nature. The dark sewers didn't seem so bad after all.

* * *

Spending the last day of school stuck in the nurse's office was not the worst thing in the world. Except for the part with the entire school is trying to catch a peak at the girl who went complete batshit crazy for no reason.

Nurse King places a cold damp rag on June's forehead. The 59-year-old woman signs deeply, looking at June.

"June, have you been taking your anxiety medication regularly?" She questions.

June nods slowly. "Every night."

The aging nurse stares at her, studying her face for any signs of deception. "Are you sure? It's alright if you haven't. However, as I explained to you and your mom, it's very important that when you want to stop taking your pills, you need to be on another set of medications to avoid side effects- "

"I know this. I know. I just had a moment." June said. "It happens."

She never missed taking her pills. She took them on time every night for almost a year. And not once did she have a panic attack. Well, not as severe as this one. The pills did help ease her fears but they didn't solve her problems.

"Still I'm concerned." Nurse Kind said. "I'll have you stay in here until your last class."

"That seems kind of pointless. I already spent the last day of school in here with you." June said.

Nurse King gives the girl a small smile. "You enjoy spending your time with me, Ms. Lupin?"

June shrugs. "Well under the right circumstances. Or just better ones."

* * *

She heard whispering as she walks past the other kids in the hallway. June pretended that she didn't hear them, it made it easier to not care about their opinions. Her locker was covered in graffiti when she got to it, referring to her as 'crazy bitch', 'psycho girl', 'Go to the looney bin', etc.

"I think you got it easy." Beverly Marsh said, grabbing stuff from her locker next to June's.

"How so?" June asks.

"You don't have to be here anymore. You get to go to high school far from here." Beverly said. "Me on the other hand, I got another two years."

There's a rumor that Beverly Marsh was a slut. Of course, that wasn't true. It got started because she kissed a boy in a school play and that boy told his friends that Beverly let him fuck her. And then they told other people and of course within weeks, Beverly Marsh was the 'school slut.'

"Oh, god people still believe that rumor? God it's like going to school with a bunch of idiots." June groans. "Oh wait…"

"Eh, I'm pretty use to it."

"You shouldn't be." June argues. She looks at Beverly, noticing that her backpack was dripping wet and slightly smelled of garbage. "And you shouldn't take shit, _both metaphorically and literally_ , from others."

Beverly shrugs. "I get what you're saying. But I can handle myself."

June sighs. "Bev, why don't you take my backpack. We got the exact same one."

Beverly looks at her questionably. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because that's what nice people do. You know be nice to others." June explains. "And no, I'm not doing this out of pity. I just…. I think you're a cool person who deserves better. Much better than Derry, Maine."


	3. Chapter 3

BEVERLY

She looks at June for moment then stares at the backpack the girl was offering to give her. Beverly hesitantly reaches out for the strap of the back.

"This isn't some trick that Gretta put you-" Beverly questions. Lately it seems that Gretta has it out for her more than usual.

"Bev, sweetie. I was conceived and born in this little town and never went outside of Derry town limits. Never." June informs her, closing her lockers.

Beverly raises an eyebrow. "That didn't answer my question."

"My point is that I don't have any friends. Never had." June tells her. "And not to mention, Greta and her little followers hate me as much as they hate you."

 _She has a point._ Beverly thought.

"I do see your point." Beverly said, taking the backpack from June's hand. "But won't your mom get upset?"

June chuckles. "Dude, I have tons of book bags at home. She won't notice or care."

"Oh, look here: a slut and a psycho!" calls out Gretta Keene from a distance.

Beverly curses under her breath, looking down. She sensed Gretta and her two friends approaching them quickly and smoothly. Beverly wishes that the ground would just open and swallow her hole. Anything would be better than having to deal with Gretta.

"Gretta," June says in a fake cheerful tone. "What bring you here? Wait, if you're here…. then who's guarding Hades?"

Gretta's lips curls into a sneer. "Who knew crazy people like to make jokes?" She turns her attention towards Beverly. "So Beaverly- "

June cuts her off. "It's _Beverly._ Listen I know being a blonde means that you have an IQ of a turkey. Okay?"

Beverly watches as Gretta's nose flares and her face turns bright red in anger. "Are you calling me turkey, Loony Juney?"

June forces out a laugh. "No. I'm comparing your brain capacity to that of a turkey. Duh. A huge difference. But don't stress your poor brain."

The blonde girl only stares down at June, who didn't look intimidated at all. Gretta was about 5'5" in height while June was merely 5'10", making her the tallest girl at Derry Elementary.

After a brief awkward silence, Gretta took a step back. "You two are a bunch of losers." She spat.

"And you're a dumb bitch. Good-bye forever." June says, gesturing for Gretta and her two friends to go away with her hands. "The thing I'm doing with my hands means go away. Like now."

* * *

"You know you didn't have to defend me." Beverly says to June as they walk towards the entrance.

June shrugs. "Gretta didn't have need to have her friends pour garbage water on you. But hey we are walking together like we're bffs."

 _But we're not friends._ Beverly thought. _Or does this makes us friends now?_

It is nice to have an actual conversation with someone for once. Someone who didn't believe those rumors about her being the school slut.

"I am curious." Beverly says. "About what happened this morning…"

Beverly watches June expression, hoping that her question didn't ruined their developing friendship before it even started.

"Oh that…it's…just anxiety. I get panic attacks sometimes. No big deal." June shrugs it off. "I take medication for it."

"Oh." Beverly said. "I didn't know."

"We just met. Of course, you didn't know." June scoffs, pushing the east side entrance doors open. "Unlike you, Bev, I actually live up to my name as the psycho girl."

Beverly was unsure if June was being serious or just joking. She was hoping for the latter.

* * *

When she and June steps outside of the building, Beverly is the first to notice a roundish overweight boy at the bottom of the stairs. In one hand, he held a diorama project while holding onto his bike handles with his other hand. Beverly sighs softly as she watches the boy trying to balance his bike and project.

"Are you gonna let us pass by?" Beverly asks impatiently. "Or is there some secret password or something."

"Oh um…" the boy stumbles on his words. "Sorry."

"Sorry is not- "

The diorama fell onto the concreate sidewalk, causing the paper structures to be disassembled as it contacted the ground.

"…. password."

The boy quickly bends down to gather up his diorama, letting his bike fall onto the ground. The boy groans and stumbles in frustration. Beverly looks at June and then back to the struggling boy.

"Henry and his goons are over by the west entrance." Beverly informs him. "So, you should be fine."

The boy glances up at Beverly. "Oh…I wasn't- "

"Everyone knows he's looking for you." June finally spoke. "Something about him getting summer school because you refused to do his paper or something."

The boy looks at the ground. "Yeah…that's true."

"Don't be ashamed. He's the dumbass for repeating 8th grade for the…" June thinks for a moment. "… at this point I lost count."

Beverly smiles softly. "Whatcha listening to?" She walks up to the boy and removes his headphones from his head and gently sets it on her head, adjusting it for her ears. Her eyes lit up as she recognizes the song: 'You Got It (The Tight Stuff)" by NKOTB.

"New Kids On The Block." Beverly states.

June grins. "That's so ironic yet adorable at the same time."

"I don't even like them." The boy lies. "Just-"

"You're the new kid, aren't you?" Beverly asks. "Now I get it."

"There's nothing to get.." The boy says in a low tone.

"We're just messing with you." Beverly laughs, places the headphones on top of the boy's head sloppily. The boy took his headphones from his head and places them around his neck. "I'm Beverly Marsh."

"And her newly acquaintance, June Lupin."

"Yeah, I know that." He said, gesturing towards Beverly. "We were in the same class. Social Studies. You were-I'm Ben. But everyone calls me-"

"The new kid." Beverly finishes. "There are worst things to be called. We would know." She notices the yearbook sticking out from his book bag and snatches it from inside. "Lemme sign this."

She goes to the autograph section of the yearbook and she not surprised to find the pages completely blank. Bev felt bad that it was blank. She then uncaps her pen with her mouth and proceeds to write in her name along with three hearts.

June takes the yearbook and writes at the bottom of the page. "You're the reason why I sing this song-June Lupin. Here you go, Ben." She hands it back to him.

"Thanks." Ben said gratefully.

"Stay cool, Ben from soc class." Beverly said as they walk past Ben.

* * *

JUNE

It was the first time in months that her mom was awake when June got home from school. Although it was probably because of Nurse King who called and left a voicemail explaining June's little 'episode'.

Diane stood over the kitchen sink, washing her hands. She wore her mint green hospital scrubs with her mousey brown hair pulled into a messy bun.

"I thought you would be home sooner." Her mom said, turning off the facet.

"I got caught up with talking to someone from school." June said.

This new information made Diane turn around and look at her daughter. Looking at her mother was almost like looking to mirror that ages someone by 27 years. The only difference between them was that Diane had a milky (almost pale) complexion. June had more of a honey brown tone.

"You have a friend now?" She questions.

June shrugs. "I just met her. It's too early to tell." She heads into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator, looking for something to eat.

"The school nurse called me during my shift breaks." Diane informs her. "I thought you were taking your medication like we agreed to."

"I am." June said defensively. "I never missed a day. And no I didn't forget to take them."

"I never said you did."

"You're thinking it." June accuses, grabbing leftover pizza from two days ago.

"I'm just worried about you." Diane said. "And June you shouldn't eat that. It's been in there for days."

"Only two days, Mom. Don't be so dramatic."


	4. Chapter 4

JUNE

Her mom had just gone back to work for her second shift, leaving June home alone for the rest of the evening. She sat on the couch, watching some children's show out of pure boredom. The show itself was kind of cheap knock off _Sesame Street_ , without the colorful friendly monster puppets.

June's eyelids started to feel heavy. The warm humid air inside the house wasn't helping, it only made her more irritable. Sweat on her body forms quickly, making her t-shirt and shorts cling to her skin uncomfortably. For a moment, June closes her eyes, and behind her eyelids the TV was still audible.

 _"Do you know where all the water from the toilet and bathtub goes?"_

 _"No."_ A group of children answer in union.

 _"All the water goes right into the sewers. The sewers are a fun place to play with all your friends Just follow the water into the drains and away you go! "_

 _Ding-Dong._

Eyes flew open at the sound of the doorbell. June groans softly as she stretches out her limbs. She glances at the analog clock that hung on the wall. It read 10:15PM. She been asleep for 3 hours. She groans in annoyance.

"I'm not gonna answer that." June says to herself. "It's too late. And I'm too damn hot and tired."

The doorbell rings again. This time accompanied by hard frantic knocking. June jumps slightly, her heartrate increasing by each second. She didn't move from the couch; her entire body was stuck in place. She stares at the front door entrance, waiting for the doorbell to ring again.

Silence.

June lets out a breath she's been holding in, placing a hand on her chest. Her heart pounds frantically against her hand until it slows down back to a normal, anxiety free pace. She laughs to herself for getting so anxious over something silly.

"Maybe I am going crazy…"

* * *

The house June currently resides in is a two story Victorian style house that was built around May 1900. It was one of the few Victorian houses that was built in Maine during the reign of Queen Victoria. The wooden stairs creaks with each step June took upstairs as she heads into the bathroom.

The cool water from the shower felt refreshing on June's skin. She stands under the showerhead to rises out the remaining shampoo from her hair, scrubbing her scalp to quicken the process. Water starts to become a bit warmer, which is strange to June. Usually when she's in the shower for more than 30 minutes the water temperature decrease, not increase.

As the water continues to get warmer, she faintly tastes copper on her lips. When she opens her mouth, the water had the horrible taste of rusty copper. June's eyes open as she spits out the water. Instead of clear running water, the shower head was spraying out dark crimson liquid. Her heart starts to beat faster than normal as the she realizes what was happening.

 _Oh, my god. It's blood. I been showering in blood…_

June nervously glances down at her body, her eyes widens in horror as she sees that her body is covered in thick layers of blood. She finds it hard to breathe. A scream trap inside her throat.

 _June._ A voice calls out.

Her body is paralyzed. She couldn't move.

 _Junie._ The tone became raspy as it spoke. _Come out and play June._

The bathroom door creaks open. Each step it takes makes a wet and slimy sound as it slowly approaches the bathtub. June could barely make out its shape as it cast a shadow on the white shower curtains. Whatever it was….it was big.

It hisses and growls lowly but dangerously.

Her vision becomes blurry from the bloody shower. She gags violently at the sudden strong scent of rotting flesh and blood.

A monstrous hand suddenly grabs onto the shower rod.

June regains control of her body and scurries out of the bathtub quickly. However, she slips and falls onto the tile floor hard. June cries out in pain. She tries to get up but the blood makes her slip back down to the floor. Something slimy and cold grips on her ankles tightly and drags her back towards the bathtub. June feebly crawls at the tile floor, leaving bloody handprints and drag marks in the process.

It flips her onto her back. June couldn't believe what she was seeing.

The alien.

It wasn't one of those small little green aliens with large grotesque heads and huge black eyes. Oh, how she wishes it was one of those aliens.

The alien that was staring at her is the same one from the movie _Alien._ The one about the space truckers who encounters some type of alien organism on a foreign planet.

That alien.

And it was in her bathroom as thick massive drops of drools drips on her legs. Its body was a mixture of something organic and mechanical. Its lips quivers as it reveals shiny metallic canine teeth, slowly opening its mouth to reveal a second set of teeth.

It leans in close to her face and hisses. June didn't realize that she was holding in her breath until she lets out a tiny yelp.

Then it launches its inner mouth at her skull.

* * *

IT

Its tongue brushes against the girl's skin roughly as she sweats profusely in her sleep. Drool trails down his chin and onto her skin. He induced her nightmares only enough for him to get a good taste of her. _Sweet and salty._ She may not be a young child but she still had somewhat of a childlike innocence to her.

The girl moans in her sleep.

He should just take her now. It wouldn't be any different than the other missing children. The clown tilts his head to the side. She didn't appeal to his hunger like the other children he feasted on. She's just too fun to play with to eat.

"I have plans for you, sweetheart." He spoke to her in a sweet tone. "Special plans."

Before he goes back into his slumber, he'll take the girl back into the sewers with him.

Yes.

He'll keep her.


	5. Chapter 5

JUNE

June was afraid to get out of bed the next morning. She doesn't recall how she got into bed last night. Last thing she remember is getting attacked and 'killed' by the alien and then waking up in her own bed. However, it's highly impossible because June was on the couch watch TV. She knows she fell asleep on the couch.

Did she?

Was June going insane?

"I can't stay in this bed forever." She mutters, slowly sitting up. She gently scoots towards the edge of her bed until her feet rest against the wooden floor. The floor feels extremely cold to the touch, like stepping on a sheet of ice. June's feet have a brief spasm from touch the cold floor.

"Jesus…why is this floor so cold?" She mutters, standing up in front of her bed. Turning her head towards the bathroom door that was connected to her, June cautiously walks over towards it. The door was slightly cracked opened.

She grabs the knob tightly.

June wasn't sure what she'll find when she opens the door. This unsettling feeling of dread and terror is overbearing. She never been this irrational before. Slowly she twists the knob and pushes the door open, causing it to creak slightly.

No blood on the eggshell colored walls.

No blood on the tile floor.

She approaches the tub and pulls back the shower current.

Smooth cermanic tub wasn't tainted with blood.

June didn't realize she was holding in her breath until she felt her lungs screaming for air. Relieve washes over her like a massive tidal wave. She also feels silly for having such ridiculous thoughts. Even more so for being irrational since yesterday's events.

 _'If I keep this up I'll end up in the asylum. Then I'll truly be Derry's most insane girl.'_

Laughing softly at her own paranoia, June walks over to the small black box radio that sat on wooden stool and turns it on. The song that is currently playing is 'Please Don't Go Girl'. June instantly thought about the boy from yesterday. Ben from Social.

When she and Beverly Marsh was walking home, June overheard Ben mention another song by NKOTB. Beverly laughed and smiled saying that it was the 'cutest thing'.

She hears the phone ringing from her mom's bedroom. June quickly runs into her mother's bedroom to answer the phone.

"Hello Lupin residence." June spoke into the phone.

 _"Er, hi, is June there? It's Beverly Marsh from school?"_ Beverly spoke in a hush tone.

"Oh Beverly. I wasn't expecting you to call." June said. "Found me through the phonebook?"

 _"Yeah. I meant to ask you yesterday but I had to hurry and get home."_ Beverly explains. _"My dad's…strict."_

June nods softly. "I see."

She didn't know much about Beverly Marsh except that her mom died last year and she lives with her father, Alvin Marsh. She recalls when her own father talking to her mom that Mr. Marsh might be abusing Beverly during a domestic disturbance call from the Marsh residence.

 _"Do you think you can meet me at the drugstore in town? The one owned by Mr. Keene?"_

"Um, sure," June answers with no hesitation. "I'll meet you there in like…45 minutes."

She can hear Beverly sigh with relief. _"Thank you so much."_

* * *

Beverly Marsh stood outside of the Center Street Drug Store that was currently owned by old man Norbert Keene. June noted that Beverly's clothes looked slightly big on her slim frame. Now that she thought about it, Bev had always wore clothes that was either too big or second-hand.

"Yo Marsh." June calls out.

Beverly looks in her direction and waves her down. June walks up to her with her bike in hand.

"I didn't think you would show up to be honest." Beverly admits, rubbing her arm. "I honestly didn't know who else to call..." She glances at her shoes.

"You sounded like you needed some type of help." June said. "But I don't understand why you need my help."

"Last night I got..my…" Beverly began to say. "…period."

"So you looked me up to call and tell me that you needed to see me because you got your period?" June asks in disbelief.

"My first period." Beverly states.

Oh.

"I really don't know about much about periods." Beverly admits, looking at June with sad blue eyes. "It sounds pathetic I know but my mom never got the chance to explain-"

"Bev, it's okay." June interrupts her. "I don't think it's pathetic. You're not the first girl nor the last." She runs her fingers through her dark curls. "I mean you know what's going on right?"

"I do. I'm just not sure what to get…" Beverly says, walking into the store with June following right behind her. She leads the girls towards one aisle inside the store that was stock with tampons. Beverly grabs a box off one of the shelves. "Super tampons for heavy flowing. I don't know what that means."

June couldn't help but to feel sorry for the girl. "Okay, firstly…" She takes the box from Beverly's hands. "…you really shouldn't get tampons when you start menstruating." She spoke in a low tone.

"Okay, why not?"

"Well with tampons, you have to push it inside yourself." June watches as Beverly face just instantly lost color at the thought of it. "But don't worry! There's a much better and pain-free alternative: maxi-pads. They're pads that you put in your underwear."

Beverly crosses her arms. "I feel so fucking stupid right now. I'm 13 and clueless about my own body."

"Don't feel bad. I heard my mom talk about a girl from another town that didn't have her first period until she sixteen years old during her gym period. No pun intended." June said. "Mom said that the girl thought she was bleeding to death."

"That sounds horrible." Beverly whispers.

"Not as horrible as the girl's mother." June said. "So…do you think you're a light or heavy bleeder?"

Beverly's freckled face blushes profusely. "Um…I'm not sure. Kind of…light?"

June chuckles a little. "So, a regular pack would work for you." She looks at the shelves. "Okay this is just all tampons. Should be some in the next aisle. Be right back."

June quickly heads towards the next aisle to her right. However, she accidently bumps into someone's chest with her face.

"Woah!" she gasps out, stepping backwards. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be so clumsy."

"It's quite alright." A masculine voice says.

June looks up at the stranger. He stood tall, at least over 6 feet in height. He wore a bright baby blue flannel shirt that had tiny flowers on them, all shades of blue. His eyes, maybe they were grayish blue, stares into her eyes. June became fixated on them.

It was like she knew him.

Has she seen him before?

It seemed like an eternity before the stranger spoke to her again. "Do you have a name?" He smiles at her, flashing a row of pearly white teeth.

"June."

"June." He repeats. "Well I believe you were looking for this." He reaches from the highest shelf in the aisle and grabs a box of regular sanitary napkins. "Here you go."

She looks at him dumbfound. "How did you-wait have you been watching me this whole time?" June questions.

His blue eyes, slightly wide and bright, becomes fixated on her. All negative thoughts that she would've had vanishes. "No. I'm just a very observant person."

"I'm sorry I never got your name." June says.

"Bob."


	6. Chapter 6

JUNE

June scoffs to herself. "Just Bob?"

"Well I didn't receive a last name from you Miss June." Bob teases.

June frowns slightly. As much as she hates to admit it, Bob was right. Kind of. While she didn't give him her last name, she had no obligation to do so.

"True. But you're a stranger." June argues.

Bob chuckles. "You're June and I'm Bob. Bob Gray. See? We're not strangers now, are we?"

"Yes, we still are." June states, her eyes trailing from his eyes to his lips. "I mean only a little kid would fall for that type of logic."

"But you're not a little kid." Bob says in a low tone. "Are you?"

He steps a little closer to her. The way his height towers over her makes her feel small, like a mouse backed into the corner by a cat. She starts to have this strange twisting feeling in her stomach. June couldn't describe it really. She had this feelings like this before but that was during a panic attack.

His eyes. It was something about his eyes. The way they're fixated on her. Almost hypnotizing.

"No." June replies in a monotone voice.

"June." Beverly's voice calls her out of her daze. June feels her hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her. "Did you get the maxi-pads?"

June turns to look at her. "Oh, er, yeah. Sorry about that. Got distracted from talking to this guy…Bob."

"Bob?" Beverly questions.

"Yes, he's right-" June turns around only to find that Bob was no longer standing there. Her brows furrow slightly. "Well he was just right there." She glances at the box of sanitary napkins in her hands. "Let's just hurry and pay for this."

"Good cause Gretta's here today and I don't wanna deal with her." Beverly says.

June scoffs. "Like I'm afraid of her…"

Beverly grabs on June's wrist and starts to walk her down the aisle. However, Beverly quickly changes aisles when she saw Gretta Keene turning in their direction. She drags June into the next aisle to get away but ended up running into Bill Denbrough and two of his friends: Eddie Kaspbrak and Stan Uris. All three boys just stare at them like deer caught in headlights.

"Are you guys okay?" Bill asks.

"Yeah? What wrong with you guys?" Beverly asks.

"None of your business." Stan replies defensively.

"There's a kid outside who looks like someone killed him." Eddie admits, trying to hold small boxes of medical supplies in his small fragile arms.

June frowns. "Shit. What happen to him? And, where is he?"

"In the alley with R-Richie." Bill says. "We need some s-s-s-supplies but we don't have enough money."

June rolls her eyes. "He could have life-threating injuries and you left him alone with trashmouth?"

* * *

June is feeling a lot of emotions now. None of them of positive.

She feels sad that the kid who was injured is the new kid Ben. She was also feeling furious because Henry Bowers was the one who caused his injuries. June kneels to Ben's level, observing the other injuries which included a bloody nose and bleeding ears.

"Hey Ben, you remember me from the other day?" June asks softly.

Ben nods softly. "Yeah."

"Do you think your nose is broken?" June asks Ben.

"I don't think so."

"Isn't like your mom a doctor?" Richie asks impatiently.

"A nurse, trashmouth." June corrects, glancing in his direction. "I see you got a new pair of coke bottle glasses. Isn't that like your 50th pair by now?"

Surprisingly, Richie didn't have a comeback. This surprises June because Richie 'the trashmouth' Tozier always had something to say.

Always.

"Whatever." Richie mutters.

* * *

RICHIE

He hated when she was around.

It was like she had some sort of magical spell on him to that prevents him from talking. And this happens everytime she was near him. Richie once made a comment that June was a witch and that didn't end well for him.

Richie was relieved when the others came back with the supplies. It made it easier for him to continue to crack his usual jokes.

"You're not doing it right." Richie complains. "You gotta suck the wound out."

June shot him a glare. "Suck the wound? Really Richie?"

He watches as she gently cleans the dried blood off Ben's pale skin. The knife cuts on his stomach had finally stop bleeding but felt bummed out when June mentions that it will scar. Richie had to admit that she knows what she's doing. Eddie would have taken care of the new kid if he wasn't so damn afraid of catching AIDs.

"Well that should do it." June says as she finishes up. "Try not to get it wet."

"Thanks," Ben says.

"No prob." June smiles softly at him.

Richie stares at the way she smiles. It fascinated him in a weird way. A lot of the things she did when he was around her made him feel…weird.

But that didn't mean he likes June Lupin or anything, right? She was old enough to be his baby-sitter or big sister. That didn't mean he had a crush on the girl. Sure, Richie tends to get speechless when June's around but only because she had those comebacks that you can't recover from.

'She's just a girl that baby-sat Georgie.' Richie thinks to himself.

He was so busy convincing himself he didn't like a girl, Richie didn't notice Bill and another girl had come over to their spot.

"Are you okay? That looks like it hurts." Beverly Marsh asks, sounding very concerned.

 _'He's completely cut up, you slut.'_ Richie though angrily, rolling his eyes _. 'Of course, it hurts.'_

"No, I'm good." Ben assures her. "I just fell."

"Yeah right into Henry Bowers." Richie says.

"Shut-up, R-R-Richie." Bill stutters.

"Why? It's the truth." Richie complains.

"Are you sure they gotten the "right stuff" to fix you up?" Beverly asks, giving Ben a soft wink and a smile.

 _'Jesus is this girl flirting with a dying man?'_ Richie thought. He honestly found the gesture in bad taste.

"You know w-w-w-we'll take care of him." Bill tells her. "Thanks again, Beverly."

"Sure, maybe June and I will see you around." Beverly said.

"Yeah, we were maybe thinking about going to the q-q-q-quarry tomorrow, if you guys wanna…come." Bill said, stuttering more than usual.

"Good to know. Thanks." Beverly said simply.

"Well I'm all done here." June said standing up. "See ya guys later. And try not to get into any more trouble with Henry Bowers."

"And what if run into Henry Bowers?" Richie asks jokingly.

June smirks at the boy. "Then I'll have to kill him and hide the body."


	7. Chapter 7

JUNE

The one thing June hates about living in her neighborhood was that fact that it was damn near the creepy house on 29 Neibolt Street. The house itself is completely abandon and uninhabitable, apart from homeless people and drug addicts using it to sleep inside. But ever since kids started to go missing at an alarming rate, June felt as if there's something wrong with that house.

Every time she rode past it, there was this unsettling feeling that…she was being watched by something. Sometimes there were moments when she thinks she sees someone staring from out the second-floor windows.

Today is no different.

Until she hears a baby's cries out of nowhere.

June looks around, wondering where the cries from coming from. She was only person that was currently outside. June checks her watch: it read 2:27 PM.

She hears a baby's cry again.

June gets off her bike and lets it fall to the concrete ground. Her eyes focus on the crumbling house. She stood there motionless.

 _'Junie.'_

The moment she hears someone calling out her, June's legs moves on their own accord. Towards the neibolt house. The cries of the baby grew louder as she walks towards the front door as it opens by itself. Any sense of self-preservation was long gone from her mind. The only thing that was important to June was the baby that was in clear distress.

When she steps onto the actual house property, she could hear the faint sounds of a woman sobbing and begging.

 _"Please, Devil…leave us be…"_ Clearly, this woman was frightened by someone. June could only think if this was some homeless woman with a newborn.

Her foot contacts the decaying pouch steps.

 _"You mistake me woman."_ The voice that spoken sounds guttural and unnatural. _"No mere devil."_

June moves to the second pouch step.

 _"I am the Eater of Worlds."_

The third step.

 _"But my child, not my child…she is innocent…"_

June is in front of the door entrance, staring blankly into the darkness of whatever lies inside this house.

 _"So you say."_

The newborn screams in distress. June instinctively steps into the darkness and searches for the distressed newborn. The door slams shut behind her. But she didn't care. Or at least that's what she is supposed to believe.

The voices had stop talking. She listens out for the newborn.

Eerie silence.

June cautiously looks around the living room of the house. There was a dark wooden piano against the corner wall covered in dust and cobwebs. And lying on the floor near the piano was something moving, wrapped up in a blanket. June stares at it for a moment before a tiny pale arm stretches itself out of the blankets. She quickly goes over to the newborn, gently kneeling to the floor and looks at the newborn.

Its face was red and puffy from crying. June noted that despite the temperature inside had to be over 100 degrees and humid, the baby didn't appear to be sweating or showing symptoms of a heat strokes. The baby yawns a little and then looks up at June with bright blue eyes. Tiny hands reach out for her face.

June smiles softly. "Hey little one. Where's your mommy and daddy."

"Well I dunno about mommy but daddy is right here."

June held the baby close to her chest when she heard that horrible voice. She remembers who that voice belonged to. She prays to God that this wasn't really happening. June feels as if her throat was closing on her, making it difficult to breath. Slowly and dreadfully, June looks behind her back, catching a glimpse of bright ginger colored hair.

"You're not really." She tells herself, closing her eyes tightly.

It giggles uncontrollably.

The baby starts to fuss and scream at the top of its lungs. June held them more tightly to her chest.

 _'You're not real.'_

 _'You're not real.'_

 _'You're not real.'_

The baby abruptly stops screaming and goes limp in June's arms. She snaps her eyes open and looks down. Her eyes widen.

The baby was no longer in her arms. Instead, she was holding a bundle of bloody blankets, the blood still warm as excessive liquid drips in-between her fingers. June lets out a whimper. She looks up, expecting to see the clown giving her that awful buck-tooth smile.

No one was standing there.

June tries to relax her breathing, fearing that she was this close to fainting. Her heart rate slows down its pace.

"Maybe I am going crazy…" June says in a low tone.

She turns her back for a moment. Suddenly, a pair gloved hands grabs June by her neck. She lets out the loudest scream her lungs can allow her. It lifts her off the ground as she struggles against it by kicking her legs in the air and pounding feebly on its' hands.

It laughs mockingly at her. "Did I trick you little Junie?"

She kicks at him. "You're not real." June gasps out. "I'm not afraid of you."

"Lies!" It yells at her. Its golden eyes begin to shift to an angry crimson color. "You're so afraid right now I can taste it in the air." It sniffs her face deeply and lets out a low growl. "And I wanna play a game."

It brings her face towards his. June watches as its crimson eyes began to glow. The glowing intensifies as it became whiter than red. June slowly feels herself drifting out of consciousness until she was completely gone from this world.

* * *

IT

He watches as her eyes turn faded and dull. Her arms and legs went completely stiff and still, no longer having the urge to fight back against him. He lets go of her neck and watches as she is lower until her feet touch the ground again.

He smiles sweetly at her. "Are you a good girl, Junie?"

She nods obediently. He pets the top of her head as she was a canine. To him, she is already his pet. His toy alone to play with.

"You're my special girl." He says to her, stroking her hair. "And you keep being a good girl, I'll let you see your father again. And Georgie too."

"Please?" She asks childishly.

He giggles in delight, finding great pleasure in making her feel so weak. So, vulnerable. "Oh yes. And you'll come with me to the sewers when it's time for us to go back to sleep."

"Sleep?"

"Yes, and you'll come whether you want to or not." He growls at her but it didn't affect her. "You have no choice. But you won't do anything to upset your only friend, Pennywise? Would you?"

"No.."

He smiles evilly and places a small kiss on her forehead. "Good. Now close your eyes and count to seven. When you wake, you won't remember this."

* * *

AN: I have a tumblr account if you want to look at stuff related to this story ( )


	8. Chapter 8

JUNE

Sean Lupin was a brave man along with being great husband, father and deputy for the Derry's Police Department. He enjoyed his job to the point where June and Diane would sometimes have dinner at the station. However, there was one con to his job: Butch Bowers. Bowers is the current sheriff of Derry and always butthead with Sean.

Why? Because Sean was black.

While at work, Butch would often make passive aggressive comments towards Sean every chance he gets whether it would be stereotypes of black people or some racial slur. Of course, Butch wouldn't risk saying a racial slur in front of his colleagues. He mainly sticks to making those dumb stereotypical jokes about African Americans.

Sean used to live his job.

Until the disappearance of Georgie Denbrough.

When Georgie went missing, June watches as her father became so involved in that case to the point where it's the only thing he thought about. She remembers those late nights of her father reading over the little evidence that the department had. The only witness who was the last person to see Georgie alive was an elderly woman suffering from dementia.

Two weeks after Georgie's disappearance, her father still had no leads. June remembers it was hard for her dad to drive in the pouring rain. She remembers seeing someone or something dash out in the road. Her dad had lost control of the car.

Hot twisted metal.

Her father screaming and using his gun on a huge animal.

* * *

June lies in her bed curled up in a fetal position. Despite the hot and humid temperatures, a thick wool blanket was placed on top of her body. Specks of sunlight crept from behind the white curtains of the window, moving slightly by the wind.

"June!" Her mother calls. "June!"

Dark brown eyes snap open. June yawns, pushing the heavy wool blanket off herself and on to the floor.

"June Eliza Lupin!"

June groans. "Yes, mom! I'm up! I'm up!"

"Can you please come down stairs? I need to talk to you."

June sighs. It wasn't often when her mother would call her by her full name. When she does, however, two scenarios happen: either June is in major deep shit or something bad happened. She rubs her sore head, trying to figure out what have she done wrong. Now she thought about it, she doesn't recall much of yesterday. She knows Beverly Marsh had called her up yesterday about getting some tampons. Then she came right back home and gone to bed.

"Jesus, did I hit my head asleep?" June groans.

"June, would you please hurry up?" Her mother calls again, sounding impatient.

* * *

"He's gonna be living with us?"

She stood at the end of the stairs in complete shock. Standing in the open-door way was the tall guy from the drug store. A small black duffle bag rested on near his feet. He wore the same clothes from yesterday: same light blue flannel shirt with tiny flowers with a pair of washout black jeans.

"Not living with us, June. Just renting out a room."

Her mother had put up ads in the local newspaper stating that she is currently renting out the spare guest room. Her father would've hated the idea of letting a stranger live in their house. Especially since the only guest room in the house was only two feet from June's room.

"It's only for the summer, ma'am." He states to her mother, but his eyes focus on June. "You won't even notice me."

"I'm Diane Lupin." Her mother said, she looks over to June. "This is my daughter-"

"June. We met un-officially yesterday at the drug store in town." He says, smiling at her mom. "I'm Robert Gray. You can call me Bob."

June watches as bright red color waves over her mother's cheeks. "Well Bob the room is on the second floor to your left. June, can you help with his bag?"

"Mom, it's just one small bag." June complains.

Her expression changed from blushing bride to typical angry parent. It was the look in her eyes that took June by surprise. "June, when I ask you to do something I expect you to do it. Now please show Mr. Gray to the room he'll be staying in for the summer."

When she spoke to June her tone was different in a way. There was something…off.

"It's no trouble, Mrs. Lupin." Bob assures her, grabbing his duffle bag from off the wooden floor. "Besides, a young lady such as your daughter shouldn't have to carry heavy items."

"Excuse me?" June questions, feeling herself getting defensive. "I am capable of carrying heavy items."

Bob smiles at her. "Of course. Didn't mean to cause any trouble." He walks past her up the stairs, June's eyes watching him as he made his way into the guest room.

"What has gotten into you, June?" Her mother questions.

"You're just letting some stranger live with us." June says in a low tone.

Diane sighs deeply, rubbing her temples. "June, we have bills in this house in case you have forgotten."

"You think I'm so stupid native kid? I can clearly see the overdue letters." June said, crossing her arms. "Mike Hanlon's grandfather said he has an opening for me to work this summer."

"June you're not working. I'm the mother and my job is to provide for you." Diane argues. "It's too far-"

"I'm 15-years old. I'm pretty much a high schooler." June says. "It's just for the summer."

"You won't be fucking 15 until late August." Diane says, becoming frustrated and impatient. "Damnit June work with me here."

June pause for a moment. "Dad wouldn't like that you're letting a stranger live here."

Diane's face flashes with anger. Her once pale face now turn angry red in color. "Don't bring up what your father would have-"

June scoffs. "What? Don't bring up Dad? I can't be like you Mom and just bury myself in hours of dealing with sick people." She has a hard time keeping her emotions in check.

"June. It's been almost a year."

 _Eight months._ June thinks. _It's been eight months since the accident that killed Dad._ She sighs deeply, not wanting to deal with her mother any more than necessary.

"Yeah. Whatever." June mutters, storming past her to go outside. The sunlight was warm on her skin as June makes her way towards her bike that was lying on its side on the freshly cut lime green grass.

"June, where are you going?" Diane demanded.

June ignores her as she picks up her bike, dusting off tiny grass blades from the old leather bike seat.

"June! You hear me talking to you!"

She didn't answer her back. June begins to take off on her bike.


	9. Chapter 9

JUNE

"Holy shit, Marsh." Was the first words that came out of June's mouth when she meets up with Beverly. Instead of long bright auburn in a ponytail, Beverly now had a short messy yet gorgeous curly auburn hair.

"It looks terrible?" Beverly questions.

"No no. I meant it in a good way." June tells her. "It looks…beautiful on you. Like Molly Ringwald."

And June meant it. Whether Beverly had long, short or even if she decided to go bald, Beverly will still be the most beautiful girl June has ever met, inside and out. June felt pathetic for having the need to compare herself towards Bev. Sure, June was older and much more developed physically, however, Beverly had more of a feminine appearance.

June never really dressed up in girls' clothing, unless she was in the mood of people giving her weird looks. Or boys telling her that she looked like a prostitute because how girls' clothing fitted so tightly on her body. Now, June sticks to wearing slightly large t-shirts and jeans. No dresses, no summer shorts, tanks tops, etc. Nothing that would reveal the intimidate parts of her body.

"I hope the boys won't make fun…" Beverly says, grabbing a box of cigarettes from her backpack.

"If they do, I'll make Henry Bowers look like the terrible boxer." June jokes. "Can I get a one too? I been feeling stress about this morning."

Beverly hands the box to June as she lit up her own cigarette. She uses her nails to grab one before passing it off back to Bev.

"I never thought you were a smoker." Beverly says, blowing out a puff of whitish smoke.

"I'm not actually." June admits as took her very first drag. As soon as she tastes the tobacco on her tongue, June begins a coughing fit. "But my mom and I had a fight." She explains through each cough. "We have a new guest living in our house and I don't like it. And get this: it's the guy from yesterday. The one who just vanished on me."

"From the drug store?" Bev asks, taking another puff of smoke.

"Yeah and it's fucking weird." June said. "And she's acting so weird about. Like super weird. Just letting some random man stay in a room that's next door to a teenage girl."

June catches a small smile on Beverly's freckled face. "Like my dad would ever let that happen." She goes over to June, snatching the cigarette from the older girl's lips. "You're a terrible smoker, Junie."

June stood there dumbfound. "What? I'm not a terrible smoker. Is being a 'terrible smoker' a thing?"

Beverly laughs. "Yeah. Not to mention you're a newbie. A crappy one at that."

"Dude, are you kidding me?" June complains.

Beverly smirks slightly. "Lighten up, June. I'm only teasing you. Besides, we're supposed to go to the quarry."

* * *

RICHIE

They stood on the edge of the quarry staring down at the lake below them. Richie found it a bit weird that it he, Bill, Stan, Ben and Eddie were all wearing white briefs. For the past twenty minutes, the boys had been playing loogie, a game involving a large wad of spit. The one with the weakest loogie would be the one would jumps first. So far, Eddie was in the lead of being the first jumper.

"Oh, my god that was terrible!" Richie says. "I won."

"You won? Have you _seen_ my loogie?" Eddie questions.

"I went the farthest. It's all about distance."

"It's mass." Eddie argues. "It's always about mass."

"What the fuck are you talking about now, Eds?" Richie complains. "What is mass?"

"It doesn't matter how far it goes. It's how cool it looks." Eddie explains to him. And it's green or it's white or it's juicy and fat."

Leave it to Eddie to turn every fun activity they do together into a boring school lecture.

"Gross."

"Well, who's going first?" Bill asks.

Richie stares down at the water again. Despite it being unusually cool today, he feels his sweat glands working overtime. As Richie continues to stare down, the distance from the edge to the pool of water beneath them seems to expand further away. Was it farther than Bill said it was? How long would the falling be? Would it hurt?

Richie pushes those thought out of his head. He and the boys have been coming to the quarry and jumping off the edge and into the water every summer. And each time, they all returned home completely intact.

So, what's different about this summer? Why was he getting Eddie's level of anxiety?

"We'll go!" A voice calls out from behind him.

They all turn their head simultaneously.

Beverly Marsh and June Lupin stood there as they shove their bikes to the ground along with their own. Richie watches as Marsh begins to unbutton her pale gray color dress while June simply pulls her large blue t-shirt over her head. He couldn't believe what was happening in front of him: two girls were just getting undressed in front of him. Well not just him but it sure as hell felt like it.

Marsh and June had two completely different bodies. Marsh's body was milky pale and slender, not to mention she had hips and breast. Looking at June, Richie notices how her breast was bigger, almost like a grown woman's and her hips were a bit wider. She also wore a bright yellow bra and white panties which stood out on her light brown skin.

"Sissies." Marsh teases as she and June begins to run towards them.

Richie watches as the two girls ran past them and made that faithful leap from edge. It seemed like it happened in slow motion.

"What the fuck!" Richie exclaims as they disappeared into the greenish blue lake. "Holy shit! We just got shown up by two girls! Two girls! Not one but two of them!"

"Hey Trashmouth," June calls him out. "Are you gonna stand there with your head up your ass or you gonna get in this water?"

"Are we gonna have to do that?" Stan asks nervously.

"Yes," Eddie answers with a weary look on his face.


	10. Chapter 10

RICHIE

June Lupin was a cheater.

She had the advantage of being the tallest kid out of the rest of time. She didn't have the need to have anyone of them sit on her shoulders to beat them. She can do that all on her own. Richie got really pissed when Eddie volunteered to sit on her shoulder so he can have the pleasure of pushing Richie from Ben's.

"You're a goddamn cheater, Lupin!" Richie curses, blowing the cold water from his nose.

June lets out a laugh. "Just because you suck at this game doesn't mean that I'm a cheater, Richie Tozier."

Richie sticks his tongue out. June uses the opportunity to splash water in his face, her sudden actions cause little Eddie to fall off her shoulders and into the turquoise colored water. June lets out a surprised, heart stopping gasp.

"Oh, my god, Eddie! I'm so sorry!" June apologizes. "Are you alright? Did you cut yourself?"

Richie scoffs. "Geez, you're starting to sound like Eddie's mom. All you need to do is gain the extra 450 lbs.-"

June turns and stares down at Richie. Her sweet chocolate brown eyes seem to hold fire inside of them. For a moment, Richie felt terrified of the tall girl before him.

"If you want to live to see the next school year, Richie Tozier, I suggest you not finish that sentence. Understand?" She threatens in a low tone.

Richie nods slowly. "Understood, Señora." He gives her a cheeky grin with a wink.

She didn't find that amusing at all. "Why don't you just grow up?" June sighs, rolling her eyes.

* * *

He couldn't take his eyes off her.

June and Beverly laid side by each other on a large light blue towel just basking in the sunlight. Richie just stared at her body and he wasn't the only one doing so. Well his focus was on June's body but caught a few glances at Beverly Marsh too. This group of boys wasn't exacting smooth when it came to girls.

What girl in her right mind would date someone who can't even speak without stuttering like Bill? Or a guy with serious mommy issues like little Eds? Or a guy who got his dick cut off on his birthday like Stan? Who would want to even fuck a Jew? Or a giant tub of lard like the new kid?

Christ, Richie felt pathetic for thinking about this. He's just a kid. He is supposed to be acting like a kid, not gawking at two girls like a perverted asshole.

'She already thinks I'm not even funny enough.' Richie thinks to himself. But still, he was curious to how June's skin must feel like. Maybe it was like his favorite pillows or-

Beverly Marsh suddenly shifts her body. The boys instantly shift their heads away from the two girls. Richie's heart skips a beat or two. To avoid detection of any peeping on his part, he goes straight into Ben's open backpack.

"News flash, Ben. School's out for summa!" Richie announces, talking into his fist like it was a microphone. He looks further into his backpack until a postcard caught his attention. "Who sent you this?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Ben shrugs. Then his entire demeanor changed when Richie pulls out the postcard from the backpack. It was one of those postcards that had Derry's landmarks, the lighthouse. He barely got a good look of the writing on the back before it was snatched out of his hands from Ben.

The large boy's cheeks were bright like freshly picked cherries. "It's for no one."

Richie couldn't help but to grin from ear to ear. It was a fucking love letter. The new kid had a crush on a girl from school. He goes through Ben's backpack again, this time, grabbing a thick dark green folder. Richie opens it up, expecting a stack of paper, filled with cheesy love letters of Ben professing his love.

To his surprise, Ben's folder is filled with photocopies of newspaper articles. As Richie looks through the pages, he notices that each article was about missing people and/or tragic events that happened years ago right here in Derry.

"Dude, what's with the murder mystery project?" Richie questions. "Are you that bored?"

"When I first moved here," Ben explains, speaking a bit low. "I didn't have anyone to hang out with…so I started to spend time in the library."

Richie gave him a look. "On purpose?"

June scoffs. "Maybe you should follow Ben and do the same, little Tozier. You'll probably get some decent grades…"

"I get good grades." Richie says defensively.

June stands up from where she was lying down and walks over towards Ben and Richie. She takes the stapled photocopies from Richie's hands and looks over them.

"You been doing a lot of studying on the worst and tragic moments in Derry. I feel I like I should be concerned, Ben." June comments.

"What's the Black Spot?" Stan asks.

"It was a nightclub that black people felt safe going to." June explains. "Back when we weren't allowed to go to 'other' establishments. Ya know those 'Whites Only: No Colors Allowed' type places."

Richie watches as Stan's body slightly tenses a bit. "I'm sorry I didn't mean-"

"I'm not pissed at you. Anyways, it got burnt down by the Maine Legion of White Decency, Derry's version of the Klu Kux Klan." June says. "But I remember my dad mentioning something weird that happened afterwards."

Richie looks at her. "Wait, your dad was there?"

June shook her head. "No, he was in England at the time, actually he said this happened to a friend of his, um, William Hanlon."

"He the old man that owns that farm outside of town?" Eddie questions.

"His dad does. William Hanlon and his wife died in house fire not too long ago." June said. "But, my dad said that William saw something when he got out of the building. He thought William was delusional from inhaling smoke."

Richie felt himself getting impatient. "Spill it out, goddam. What did he see?"

"A giant bird, I dunno how big, it was just hovering over the crowd with balloons…" June spoke lowly. Her body tenses up a bit. "…and it just grabbed someone right off the ground…"


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: So this story will go back and forth between 1989 and 2016, mostly in June's perspective.**

* * *

 **June (2016)**

It wasn't unusual for June to be up at 2:45 in the morning doing yoga poses. Her therapist, Dr. Mika Johnson, told June that whenever she was having trouble sleeping, doing yoga will help calm June, physically and mentally.

It did help her a great deal. Not to mention that Dr. Johnson is practically the best therapist in the Chicago area that's in-network. Or the closest June will get to the best. Finding a decent therapist that insurance can afford is like finding the smallest needle in the largest haystack. Some were good for a while, but June felt that they didn't truly understand her struggles.

'Breathe in.'

Inhale.

'Breathe out'

Exhale.

June then stands from the lotus position and gets into the downward facing dog position. She gave her back a quick crack and exhales slowly and softly. From the corner of her, a red-haired woman laid soundly asleep. What was left of the woman's makeup was slightly smeared on the satin white pillows. June didn't mind too much about it.

"I didn't know you like to do yoga this early." The woman spoken up from the bed. "Then again, you keep to yourself all the time so anything I haven't seen you do is a surprise to me."

"It's therapeutic." June tells her simply.

The woman moves closer to the bed's edge near June. Her bright red hair suffering from a case of bed head and sexual activity that took place a couple hours ago. She reaches out to lightly caress June's arm.

"Well that explains how you're so flexible." The woman teases, sliding off the bed to sit next to her lover. "Care to show me some new moves?"

June rolls her eyes in slight annoyance. She wasn't in the mood for round two or for Beverly-Gina's antics. Instead of responding, she merely closes her eyes and focuses on breathing techniques.

 _'Breathe in'_

Inhale.

 _'Breathe out'_

Exhale.

Gina pouts at June's silence. "You were so much fun at the club. Was that an act to get me to fuck you?"

Inhale. Exhale.

"I just need a few minutes to my- "June quickly stood back up when she sees that Gina is looking at her prescription medications on top of the dresser. "Dude what the hell?" She quickly got up and snatched the pill bottles from her hands.

Gina looks over at June with a surprise expression, raising her hands in the air. "Alright alright. I am not drug addict looking to take your drugs."

June rolls her eyes. "You told me you're 3 months sober. Which by the way now that I'm no longer under a sex induced haze, I don't feel all that comfortable with you next my medication."

Gina laughs at June, shaking her head. "Even if I was to fall off the wagon again, what you got here won't feed my addiction cravings."

June rubs her temples to ease the oncoming migraine. She known Gina for a while, including her on again off again relationship with cocaine. However, this is the very first time June had slept with her. Actually, it's the first time June has let her inside her apartment, let alone her bedroom. June never allowed anyone into her home. It wasn't because she didn't trust anyone. It was the lack of friends she had.

Well, maybe Gina but that itself is a complicated relationship.

"I didn't think you were going to steal my medication." June said defensively.

Gina shrugs. "I don't care. Besides it seems like you like a lot of anxiety and depression. Geez I know you told me about that shit that happened to you like…30 years?"

"27." June corrects. "It's been 27 years."

"You never told me what happened." Gina says. "At least your version…"

"That's because I rather not." June tells her.

That summer was so long ago yet it was fresh in June's mind like it happened yesterday. She remembers it. The boys. Beverly. Dead children in the sewer…

"Listen Gina, it's best if I never told you the details of my traumatizing childhood, especially the summer of '89." June says. "It's best to put the past behind."

Gina sighs in frustration. "Goddamn June, you can't hide from your past. No matter what you do…. _you'll float too_ …"

June's heart literally stops beating for a moment. She glances at Gina only to find the woman staring blankly at her unmoving with a slight smile on her face.

"What did you say?"

"You'll float too." Her mouth moves but the voice didn't belong to Gina. It was childlike yet threatening. It's voice.

It.

"This isn't real."

It laughs, grabbing June by her wrist tightly. _"It's almost time Junie. Almost time to play again."_

"This isn't real."

 _"And you're it."_

* * *

The loud vibration of her cell phone awakens June from her nightmare. Gina's arm had her arm lazily wrapped around June's waist. June groans in annoyance but is grateful for the phone call. Anything was better than dealing with her usual nightmares.

Her eyes squinted at the phone's brightness. She recognizes the area code from Derry but not the number. It must be her mother. Sometimes she calls June at random times, especially at night because she works nights at a hospital.

"Hey mom, it's really late- "

 _"_ _Hello is this June Lupin?"_

"Yes?"

 _"_ _Is Diane Lupin your mother?"_

"Yes. Did something happen to her?" June asks curiously, her mind is still semi-conscious, unable to fully function.

 _"_ _I'm calling because you're listed as the next of kin-"_

"Wait? Next of kin?"

 _"_ _I'm sorry to inform you but your mother has passed away."_


	12. Chapter 12

Diane (2016)

She wasn't surprised at all to hear about Adrian Mellon. Derry, Maine wasn't exactly LGBT friendly, but this is the first hate crime in Derry that has resulted in a death. It was about maybe close to 11:00PM when his body had arrived at the clinic. His autopsy won't be for another few hours due to the Derry's only corner being out of town on vacation with his family.

Diane is with one of the detectives, filling out paperwork in the receptionist office. The building itself is twenty-seven years old with outdated wiring and lighting. She forgotten how much of a headache it is to fill out paperwork for the deceased, it was like writing out a thesis paper.

"When will the corner be doing the autopsy again, Ms. Lupin?" Detective Willis asks.

"When he gets here in a few hours." She answers, not looking up from writing. "He was on vacation when you called us. Honestly, why did you bring him here?"

"The nearest hospital is too far, and you know how quick a body decays when it's in water." He informs her. "All the marine animals eat up the evidence."

Diane scoffs. "It's an open and shut case. He died from blunt force trauma. From rocks that was thrown at him."

Detective Willis shifts in his chair a bit. Diane caught the look of uneasiness in the aging man's eyes. It certainly caught her off guard that's for sure. Willis rarely shown other emotions beside his usually grumpy man persona.

"Is there something you haven't told me?"

"No."

"Dan…."

"Have you seen the body when we brought him in?"

Diane shook her head. "I haven't yet cause of all this goddamn paperwork you got me doing."

"Well the thing is…" His voice lowers into a hush whisper. Diane leans in closer to hear him better. "He got other wounds that's not from the rocks."

Her eyes narrow. "What kind of wounds?"

* * *

Adrian Mellon looks as if he was sleeping off a bad case of the flu if it wasn't for the noticeably large dent mark on the side of his head. His skin had started the early stages of decomposition, taking on an ashen gray color.

Staring at his body, Diane wasn't sure if she wanted to see what other kinds of wounds Adrian was hiding under the white sheet. Taking a deep breath, she pushes those fears aside and gently remove the white sheet from half his body.

Her eyes widen when she saw the large bite mark on Adrian's left side where his arm is. Or where his arm was supposed to be. Detective Willis had forgotten to mention that last important detail.

"Jesus Christ." Was all Diane could mutter.

"God ain't got nothing to do with it."

"How can something like that happened?" Diane questions him.

"The guys who attacked Mellon and his boyfriend said that when Adrian fell over the bridge…Diane this is gonna sound nuts…" He's hesitating to finish his sentence. "…they saw a fucking clown."

"A clown? Like one of the clowns from Canal Days?"

"Jesus, I don't fucking know." He says. "Those kids were on some type of drug because…shit I haven't seen any injuries like this since Sean…and that was like almost 28 years ago wasn't it?"

Diane remembers the last time she saw a body like this was her own husband, Sean. It made her physically sick from just thinking about. She remembers the car accident, how she got the call about Sean and June.

June.

Her daughter had to be at least 13 or 14 at the time. She only had minor physical injuries but emotionally…it took time. June said that something pulled Sean from out the car when it was turned upside down.

She heard something maul her father to death.

"Diane you look like you seen a ghost." Dan says, trying to lighten the mood.

"This isn't funny." She turns and glares at him.

Something in his eyes change. "I'm sorry I know this must bring up a lot of painful memories for you and June. How is June anyways?"

"I wouldn't know she barely speaks to me…"

"Well you were so neglectful as a mother- "

Diane slaps him across the face. How dare he? She had done her best with June as a single mother. She had work long nights just to support her and June. However, what catches Diane off guard is the fact that Dan didn't even flinch when she slapped him.

"Screw you, Dan."

He merely stares at her before talking again. "You" were a bad mother to June. Especially when all those kids were going missing…"

Diane took a step back. She was confused to Dan's sudden change in behavior. It was especially the look in his eyes. They appear brighter and wild.

"Dan, you're scaring me now."

She takes another step back.

"Scaring you? You have no idea what being scared is." His voice became higher in tone. He takes one step forward. "You weren't being a good mother and Junie got hurt Diane."

Diane makes a dash towards the door. She twists the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. She pulls and tugs at it to open but it refused to open. Suddenly she was lifted off the ground by her shoulders and was slammed right against the glass door window, causing spiderweb cracks to appear. She screams and claws at Dan's face.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!" She screams and Dan starts to laugh loudly.

"You sound just like June. I see where she gets her screams from." Dan's voice changed. Now it was a mixture of his and someone else. His hand clasp around her throat.

"You…" Diane gasps, struggling to breathe. "...stay..away…"

"I have no intention of being away from her." Dan's eyes changes from blue to a molten gold. "I waited twenty-seven years for her to come back to me."

He snaps her neck.

"And they'll die if they try to stop me from taking her."


End file.
